Decentralization and fuel subsidies

Massimiliano Ferraresi (), Christos Kotsogiannis and Leonzio Rizzo

Energy Economics, 2018, vol. 74, issue C, 275-286

Abstract: This paper explores the role of decentralization in explaining variation in fuel subsidies across countries. Using panel data over the period 1998-2008 and for 108 countries, it emerges that the effect of ‘decentralization’ (taken to be an increase in the number of government levels) broadly decreases both diesel and gasoline subsidies, with this effect being more pronounced when the level of political accountability is low. For developing countries, for which political accountability is low, decentralization decreases gasoline and diesel subsidies by at least 6.98% and 12.99%, respectively. For developed countries, for which political accountability is high, decentralization does not have any impact on both gasoline and diesel. What this evidence points to is that in developing economies, where voters are poorly informed and accountability is low, decentralization appears to be associated with lower fuel subsidies.

Keywords: Fuel-price subsidies; Multi-leveled governance; Federalism; Decentralization; Share responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H77 O23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:74:y:2018:i:c:p:275-286

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2018.05.031

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